Happy Halloween

So my husband went with some of the other neighborhood dads to take the kids trick-or-treating while I stayed home to dole out the candy. Our neighborhood is a popular destination for Halloween. We have sidewalks and well-lit streets, so it's a great place to bring your kids. We only had a handful this year with no costumes, the rest were fun to see--until we ran out of candy. Maddie and a friend came back to our house to check out their stash. I was disappointed that Junior Mints and York Peppermint Patties did not make a showing in my daughter's treat bag this year. I always get those since she does not like mint flavored anything.

While I was handing out candy, I was listening to last week's "This American Life" from NPR via podcast, and I've never been so scared in my life. The first part of the program was about the "hell house" that is run every October by a church in Cedar Hill, Texas. I was beyond appalled and am pretty sure I'm going to have nightmares about it tonight. While I would never claim to be a Biblical scholar, I did go to seminary, and I'm pretty sure that Jesus never tried to frighten anyone into following him.

So, in spite of the fact that the roof leaks and the HVAC unit in the sanctuary is out and money is short, I'm more determined than ever to make First Pres in downtown NLR work. Not only do we need to reach people who have never had a church, we need to reach people who have been scarred by places like Cedar Hill.

But Halloween or not, this is the best night of the year. We get an extra hour of sleep. Don't forget to fall back. Wonder how many people will show up early for church tomorrow.

At Least a Wall Didn't Collapse

We made it just in time. At the church, there has been water bouncing off an awning and onto a window (with close to 100-year-old panes) and dripping down into the wall. Apparently there has been concern for awhile that the windows might break because of this water damage, but little did they know that the wall could have collapsed all together. After removing the ancient windows (none broken so far!), the able crew, under the direction of master carpenter David Murray, dug out enough rotted wood to fill the back of a pick-up truck. At one point, some brick from the exterior of the building crumbled and fell on one of the workers, who was, mercifully, uninjured. At some point, we need to get storm windows put on the outside to protect this antique glass, but that will have to come later.





If it is possible that one can spend too much time thinking about worship, I have done it this week. Between planning for Sunday worship and preparing worship leader at a conference in about a week-and-a-half, I am up to my ears in liturgy and power point presentations. I've got both my guitars out (tuned to different keys), a stack of books piled high next to my favorite chair and long shopping list of stuff I need to purchase (including gluten free bread) before next Sunday. I may be all out of creative thoughts until at least the beginning of next year.

I am a little worn out from the ups and downs of new church development. Presbytery may say it's a redevelopment, but it's really a new church in an old building. There is no infrastructure. No computer. No printer. A very worn out copier. No mailing list. No pledge drive in at least three years. No long distance service on the phone. There is wireless internet and very cool people (artists and musicians) who rent space at the church. And an ever-growing pool of people who are potential church members. The only indication that it is not a new church is one of our members who refuses to wear a name tag because she's been a member of the church for 65 years and everyone should know her name. Other than that, it's pretty much a clean slate.


This is the banner at the top of the argentanews.com blog. Our second annual spaghetti supper is coming up. This is the kind of great press you get in a community full of artists.

Fall Fun Weekend

Fun weekend of fall festivals and pumpkin carving parties. Rained all week last week and looks to do the same this week, but the weekend was gorgeous. Because I have way more to do than I can say grace over, I decided to try a new recipe. I made this fabulous pumpkin fudge that is my new favorite thing. So I took it all to the pumpkin carving party on a paper plate and left it! It is a dangerous thing indeed.

Am up to my ears in worship! Between the new church and being worship leader for a conference that is coming up, I've got songs and prayers and sermons and poems filling up and spilling out of my brain. After church was over yesterday, I declared a worship-free day just to try and clear my head a little.

Speaking of worship, I have to poke just a little fun at this. A friend of mine goes to Church at Rock Creek, and I just found out that they offer an express worship service for people who can only spare 30 minutes a week for church. You sing two songs, have a prayer and get a shortened version of the sermon. It's like the Reader's Digest version of church. I know it's one of the biggest churches in town, so they're clearly doing something right, but I'm still going to laugh about the Express Worship.

Just an update on the Ms. Tatum (who has a number of names that she uses). She showed up during worship on Sunday wanting to talk to the pastor. She's done this at Grace before and I think the plan is to get money from church members who just don't want her disrupting the service. Our folks weren't biting and told her she could wait for the pastor. When service was finished, she was gone. She did, however, call today and our church secretary passed along her number to me. She used a completely different name this time. A new one I had not heard before. As she started in on her tale of woe, I stopped her and told her that I simply didn't believe her stories and we would not be helping her with money. I expected to be yelled and/or cursed at, but she just said, "Alright then." And hung up. If only I had done that years ago!

Busy Week Expanded

I have discovered that Monday house chores are much less dreary when I download the weekend's editions of "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" and "The News from Lake Wobegon" on my I-pod. They are free podcasts, so I have it set up to automatically download every week. It gives me about an hour-and-a-half of stuff to listen to while working around the house. Then I switch over to music.

When you need to increase worship attendance weekly in order to get a church back up and running, there is a bit of pressure on the sermonizing. In a normal church setting, one can expect that the preacher will have off Sundays or some sermons that are better than others. But when you really need everyone who comes for the first time to want to come back again, and you really don't have a music program, and you're worshipping in a fellowship hall, you better have a really killer sermon...every time. But when I start to feel the pressure, I remind myself that I really do believe that God has plans for this church in this community at this time and that it really isn't all on me.

My best news this week was a response from someone I had invited to church. A former camper of mine told me he'll be out of town this week, but relayed that when he told a friend that I was trying to get him back in church, the friend said that he had heard there was a younger woman preacher at that church and that people were really excited about it. Did you catch the "younger" part?

Am loving my extended community of pastor friends and Christian educators who have been great about sharing ideas about evangelism and worship and grant seeking. The Internet is a great thing.

Got to try the Jambalaya yesterday. One of the local restaurants in Argenta has a cook that makes a different soup or stew each week and he only does the jambalaya about once a month. One of our church members who rents studio space in the church gets an alert on her cell when the jambalaya is ready. I've been struggling with sinus problems all week and I believe that cleared it all up.

Am also getting ready to be the worship leader for PCCCA conference in about two weeks. I am not ready and need to get so quickly!

Busy Week

Have not blogged at all this week. It is nine p.m. and I am the last member of my family to go to sleep tonight. I figure it will take me about two minutes after I shut down this computer. Church is getting good buzz. Husband survived major presentation. Daughter thinks the church is cool and like hanging out there. Good week. Long week, but good week. More later.

Jesus and Argenta

Jesus of Argenta

Great first Sunday at First Church in NLR. We had 50 people, which I think is more than double the usual attendance. Great support from the community and from friends. There's a lot of excitement brewing. I guess we'll see just how much when it's time to turn in pledge cards!

So far, all seems well, in spite of the fact that I've totally changed the worship service and style there. The congregation is worshipping in the fellowship hall because we can't afford to replace the busted heating and air conditioning unit (yet!). And the people who have been keeping the church alive are used to gathering around a couple of tables and drinking coffee and visiting until time for a very informal worship service. Now, we've ditched all the tables, faced the room in a different direction and brought in pews and benches. No one fainted or pitched a fit, so I think we're going to be okay.

The painting was done by artist and elder Sherrie Shepherd to go along with the sermon series, "The Jesus You Should Know." It's awesome!

After a worship service, a potluck and a session meeting, I am plum wore out! Tomorrow I take a break from working on First Church stuff, but will spend the whole day working on worship for the upcoming PCCCA (Presby Christian Camps and Conference Association) conference. Wonder when the laundry will get done? I need elves.

Only in Arkansas

could you have a non-alcoholic event celebrating German heritage, but Lutheran High has apparently been doing it for years. When Maddie heard that we were going to an Oktoberfest where they didn't serve beer, she said, "Well, that's not right." It was a pleasant, well-run little festival and fundraiser for the school, but it wasn't very German. The wiener dog race was pretty funny, though.

Tomorrow is my first Sunday at the new church. Should be fun. Should be interesting. Hope everyone else who gathers for worship feels the same way.

Have I Paid Too Much At the Fair?

Holy Cow! I had no idea. I'm not even sure I've ever been to the Arkansas State Fair, so I just didn't know. Between the parking, the entrance fees and ride fees and the food, how in the world do all those people who were there afford to be there? And we didn't even let Maddie play any games. Do people save up for this?

Our daughter has gotten daring all of sudden when it comes to rides and she seemed up for anything today. My husband and I went back and forth between being excited that she is no longer so afraid and being scared out of our minds that she got on some of those rides. She had so much fun, I almost forgot about how much money we spent. And when that didn't work, I tried to pacify myself with the notion that the money provides jobs at a time when so many need all the work they can get. A radio station was handing out large stickers, saying, "We have staff people giving out money to people they see wearing our stickers." While Skip said, "No thank you." I took one and placed in very prominently on my person, convinced that I would be the recipient of a large amount of cash at any time. Didn't happen.

There was much food to be had. We couldn't roll with the fried coke or the fried Twinkies or the fried butter. We stuck with the classics--french fries and fried green tomatoes. My favorite "food picture" was a guy walking down the middle of the fairway with his pot belly hanging out of the bottom of his polo shirt with chili-cheese fries in one hand and a giant pickle in the other. Wish I could have caught that one on film.

We let a great chance pass us by. The rain has made sure that all the vendors in the Hall of Industry have had a rotten week. Skip and I have talked for awhile about getting a sauna to put in the backyard. It's a "someday" thing. Like people talk about having a vacation home or a boat "someday". The sauna vendor at the fair had had such a bad week, he would have sold us one for half-off the retail price. And I've priced them before, so it really was a great deal. Unfortunately, even a half-priced sauna isn't in our budget at the moment. But I've made a mental note to head back down to the Hall of Industry the next year that it rains the week of the fair and see what kind of deals I can strike.

Tomorrow, the much more affordable Lutheran High School Oktoberfest is on our agenda. There is weiner dog racing at 4 p.m. Who can pass that up?

A Distinct Lack of Christian Charity

I still can't believe it.


I was up at the church (First Presbyterian in downtown NLR's Argenta district) for only my second day of work. I was not working on a sermon or getting the music together. I was mopping and resealing the hardwood floor in the entry way to the Fellowship Hall where everyone will enter come Sunday morning. I also put up a curtain I made to cover a doorless doorway into a room that's basically been turned into a storage unit. They really should have a class in guerilla decorating, quick cleaning and furniture moving in seminary. The church hasn't had a cleaning service in a while, but they are creative people and can move quickly. One of our members ran down to her fav restaurant and hired one of the waitresses to come down after her shift to mop the Fellowship Hall. All of this, I can believe. It takes more than prayers and preaching to get a church up and running again.

So, when I was at Grace, we often helped people who came in looking for money for food or gas or medicine. There was one woman who came in over and over. At the time, she called herself Ms. Tatum. If there was a tragedy in town--such as children dying in a fire, a horrific car accident, a shooting--Ms. Tatum claimed kinship to at least one (if not all) of the victims. She has also been the victim of cancer, kidney disease and migraines. At one point, I feared our church secretary might kill her if she showed up one more time. Then we went to a meeting hosted by one of the organizations in town who serves the homeless to learn how we could best serve the people who came in to our churches for handouts. In talking with other churches in the area, we found out that Ms. Tatum had been to them all with a number of tales of woe. I think we figured out that she had buried at least five parents, 10 children and several siblings. There were also quite a few relatives who had suffered disfiguring accidents.

Well, you may have guessed it. I've been out of the country for THREE YEARS and Ms. Tatum arrives on my second day on the job at a new church. The guys who run the recording studio let her in when she came to their door looking for the pastor. This time, she used a different name--even though she remembered me. Perhaps she has married. She claimed to have her wheelchair-bound brother (who had no legs) in the car with two of her kids and they needed gas and food. She also told me she had had cancer again and pulled back her cap to reveal a head full of hair while saying, "See, I've lost all my hair." The other church member who were there helping clean started digging in their purses for money, so I quickly told the former Ms. Tatum that we did not keep cash or food at the church. I gave her four dollars for gas and told her that she was in luck. That much money would get her over to First Pres in Little Rock where they were serving lunch right then. I escorted her out the door, and then told the guys at the recording studio to never let her in again. I am not planning on renewing my relationship with Ms. Tatum. I would like to be a better person, but I only have so much energy to give, and I've decided that spending it on her would not be good stewardship of my resources.

Formal Apologies

I'm thinking of having this form printed up on large-format sticky pads. I've started my tenure at a church in need of growth and am getting ready to shake things up, so I might need to keep a large supply of these. You can click on it to see it full size.




I've also been one to lean more toward asking for forgiveness than permission, so I hope God will grant me the wisdom to know when to push forward and when to hold back at this new call.

Victories Come in All Shapes and Sizes

Tonight my daughter did not care for the homemade chicken noodle soup that I so lovingly prepared tonight. I told her that I had used up all my food-making energy on the soup and didn't have any left. If she wanted something else, she would have to find it herself. She went to the pantry and pulled out the peanut butter and the bread and made her own peanut butter sandwich AND she put the jar of peanut butter and the bread BACK in the pantry. Ahhhh. I feel the winds of change moving in our family. Now I just need to not look in her room tonight and ruin this moment.

Despite my daughter's critique, I have to marvel at how good a few simple ingredients placed in a pot to simmer can turn out to be. Some shredded chicken with some chopped onion, celery and carrots, coupled with what was left of a box of penne becomes a feast when brought to a boil in some chicken stock and water. Even if Maddie didn't like the soup, she helped make it. I've heard it predicted that cooking will become a lost art in the next 20 years. I'm doing my part to keep it alive. Not that Martha Steward or the Barefoot Contessa have anything to fear from me. Tomorrow is guitar lesson night, which means takeout for dinner.

Culture in the Rock

Very entertaining weekend. Saturday night, hubby and I had free tickets to the Conway Symphony Orchestra performance at the Reynolds Hall at the U of Central A. Wow! First of all, that facility is amazing. It's a professional performance hall with dressing rooms, laundry facilities (for touring groups), state of the art staging and a light and sound board that are the latest and greatest.

And then the orchestra, under the direction of Israel Getzhov, was fabulous. It's Haydn's 200th birthday and so they did one of his London Symphonies and them some Russian pieces with combined choirs from UCA and Hendrix. Mr. (Dr.?) Getzhov is not only a great conductor, he is also a great educator and was a delight to listen to as he gave us the background on the pieces and the composers. Really fun night.

Sunday afternoon the whole family went skateboarding. Oh yeah, we did. Daughter and Dad went on Saturday to get her outfitted with the full kit--board, wheels, trucks, helmet, shoes and wrist guards. Section 8 Skateboards on Bowman Curve will hook you up. They were out of knee pads, but should have some in soon. Skip bought this big long board when we were in London and I dug out my custom, signed long board from back in my Surf Expo days and we hit the empty parking lot of an office park nearby. It was a lot of fun. Maddie is going to be pretty good. I'm thinking that between the electric guitar and the skateboard, I'm going to escape having to be a cheerleader mom. We're on the right path.

Sunday night, we went to hear David Sedaris. 1300 of the coolest people in Central Arkansas gathered in what used to be the worship space for Fellowship Bible Church to hear the slightly bent humorist and author. My stomach muscles still hurt this morning from laughing.

So for those who thought we'd be trading in cultural opportunities by ditching London for Little Rock, I have to say that the greater Central Arkansas area has much more to offer than a movie theater and a Barnes and Noble.

Westminster and Weldon's Meat Market

My hometown of Hot Springs has been so built up heading west down Central Avenue, that I wouldn't even have known I was in the place where I grew up if it weren't for the landmarks of Westminster Presbyterian Church and Weldon's Meat Market. The only two establishments that seem to have remained from when I was a child.

I continue to marvel at the number of shopping establishments that have sprung up both in Little Rock and in Hot Springs, yet the populations of the two towns aren't much bigger than they were 20 years ago. So we all simply must be buying more. Our need for stuff seems to have grown by leaps and bounds.

I was in Hot Springs for the 122nd meeting of the Presbytery of Arkansas. I am a lousy Presbyterian. The policies and procedures that must be followed in those meetings drive me up a wall. We actually had to vote on our ability vote on an item without amendment. Which meant we all had to agree that an item could go before Presbytery and be voted on without anyone from the floor begin able to offer up changes. And then there was a woman who was a candidate for ordination who had to preach and then be examined on the floor of Presbytery. I really am not a fan of the process. Between the seminary classes, the hoops you have to jump through with the Presbytery, the ordination exams and the public oral examinations, it is not a kind and gentle process. You better be ready to put on the Gospel armor if you want to ordained in the PCUSA.

There was some really cool news about the solar power initiative our Synod (made up of Presbies in OK, TX, LA and AR) are beginning. We are the Synod of the Sun, so it only makes sense that we would help bring solar power to places in the developing world in desperate need of alternative energy source.

And then, on a personal note, I got approval from the COM to be the "temporary supply" pastor for First Pres in the downtown North Little Rock neighborhood of Argenta. I start a week from tomorrow. It's a place with a lot of potential and I'm looking forward to seeing what Jesus might be stirring up in us and through us there in Argenta.

Holiday Hopping

I am so ready to feel better so that I can fully enjoy being back in the States for the great fall holidays of Halloween and Thanksgiving. While the American Women's Club in Duesseldorf did a great job with a Halloween party and Trunk or Treat activities, Halloween just wasn't the same in Germany or in England. Though it's catching on, Halloween is definitely an American phenomenon. And then, of course, Thanksgiving isn't even a holiday anywhere but here and Canada (I think theirs is at the end of October). Are their other places that do an official Thanksgiving? Long-time blog followers will remember what I had to pay for a turkey and 8 sweet potatoes in Germany. And canned pumpkin was a specialty item indeed. So I'm ready to decorate and enjoy the pumpkin recipes and carvings as well as the mums and the cornucopias, et al.

However, come Christmas time, I'd love to beam back over to Germany. Nobody does Christmas better. Everything is so lovely. There's no over-done tackiness. There are big Christmas markets and little village Christmas markets and markets at castles that feature only handmade items. And there is food and drink that is only available during the holidays, and that makes it all taste so much better. Before we moved to Germany, I masted the art of baking Christmas stollen. It was so plentiful there that I haven't made it in several years, but I'll have to crank some out this year.

So, once again, I'm ready to completely shed this flu bug and get on with enjoying my American fall festivities.

Chariots of Fire

Tonight my eight-year-old mimed slow motion running while singing the Chariots of Fire theme song. I'm pretty sure she's never seen that movie, so I asked her why she knew the song. She looked at me like I was crazy. "That's the song they always play when people are running toward each other or toward something in the movies or on cartoons." Then she rattled off a list: Shrek, Phineas and Ferb, Lilo and Stitch. I guess I hadn't realized how widely and often that song has been appropriated for all manner of slow-mo running scenes. I attempted to educate my daughter on cinematic history, but she wasn't much interested.

Of course, my favorite appropriation of the theme song occurs in the original National Lampoon's Vacation movie. The scene where Clark Griswold and his son Rusty make the last part of their journey to Wally World on foot only to find that the park is closed for maintenance is a classic by anyone's standards.

I am tired of being sick and feeling guilty for being tired of being sick. In spite of feeling like I've been run over by some large mode of transportation, I am in better shape than a lot of folks. No hacking cough. No raging temp. No hospitalization. And, although I have many projects/sermons/worship services I need to be working on, I do not need to be AT work right now, so I'm ahead on that score as well. My house is a little gross, but I'm about to get on the horn to contact someone to help with that one. So, all and all, I can't really complain about a little enforced rest time.

Emerging

After three days in bed, I'm beginning to feel like a person again. Not a strong, healthy person, but at least in the human family. My doctor prescribed Tamiflu for me. Just a tip: do not take on an empty stomach. That was a miserable lesson to learn. It's extremely expensive, and I have to wonder how much it helps. Hard to know. I understand that the CDC is recommending NOT prescribing it to healthy adults who don't have other health risks, but my doctor is apparently not following those guidelines. And, while I'm not one to rush into taking expensive, possibly unnecessary medicines, this flu season and all its media coverage has made me want to take whatever help I can get. My hope now is that it will not spread to the rest of the family. I do seem to be the weakest link in our household when it comes to immune systems, so the rest of the family may escape unscathed.

What a year of adjustments this is going to be for people in America. Not only are most of us learning to live on less money, but we will also most likely have to stop long enough to be sick at least once in the next few months. This flu is not the kind of thing where you can just pop some Ibuprofen and keep going. It lays you flat. Getting more rest. Spending less money. What is the world coming to?

Flu

Really bad flu. Can I get a refund on the $25 I spent on the flu shot?

Something Went Terribly Awry

Suicide victim allowed to die

In the UK, a woman suffering from depression used a living will to aid in her suicide. She drank a bottle of poison, called the ambulance and handed them her living will. It prevented them from employing life-saving measures, but allowed them to keep her comfortable until she died. The woman had attempted suicide several times before and had always been saved by medical professionals, but because of her legal end-of-life directive, doctors felt they could not intervene.

I am not at all a proponent of prolonging life by any means necessary and have always been in favor of living wills, but it seems that something went terribly wrong here. A young woman who wants to end her life calls for help so that she will not die alone and in pain, and her wishes are honored? The fact that she called for help wasn't a cue for the medical professionals to step in and save her? Did it not occur to anyone that, had she really wanted to be successful, she could have employed a number of other options that did not involve medical assistance?

People who battle severe, chronic depression live in a terrible place, but surely we can do better by them than merely helping them to die more comfortably.